The Associated Press
PALENVILLE, New York — A suspect in the 1999 assassination of a leftist former Ecuadorean presidential candidate was handed over to U.S. immigration officials in New York state.
Christian Steven Ponce, 36, of Quito, Ecuador, was arrested Saturday during a routine traffic stop.
A check of his license and a warrant check showed he was wanted in Ecuador in connection with murder, Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Greg Stewart said Sunday.
Officials say Ponce was wanted in Ecuador in connection with the killing of Jaime Hurtado and his two assistants. Hurtado, a Marxist congressman and former presidential candidate, and the two assistants were shot dead outside Ecuador’s Congress on Feb. 17, 1999.
Lenin Rosero, a member of a commission formed to investigate the killings, said Ponce “was the person who facilitated the purchase of the arms used by the assassins” and participated in surveillance.
Ponce and others were arrested two days after the shootings, and Ponce later fled Ecuador.
Rosero said he would urge Ecuador’s judicial system to ask for Ponce’s extradition from the United States.